Unfortunately, Blaze and Shiro remained at odds following day, and even a week after. They got over avoiding each other; however, the silent treatment had gone into effect. This behavior continued for at least a month, when Konata finally became fed up.

"Ugh, I can't figure out number 14 for Transfiguration," Blaze sighed as the three of them sat together poring over homework, Konata in the middle with Shiro's back against one shoulder and Blaze's against the other. Konata casually glanced down at her friend's essay.

"Mm, yeah, that's a tough one…"

"I know it," Shiro chimed in. Konata felt something much like hope spark inside her. Was this it? Was Shiro going to speak to Blaze again at long last? The moment soon passed, though, and nobody had moved. Shiro obviously had no intention of sharing his answers, though he did consider writing them down for Konata. Once Blaze rolled her eyes and returned to her parchment, Konata groaned and got irritably to her feet.

"Oh come ON! Make up already! You two got in a fight, it was upsetting, I get that! But must you act like little children? It's been a month! Over a month! You two are best friends, SPEAK TO EACH OTHER! What do I have to do, lock you in a damn closet together until you talk! I'm not taking sides here, because I understand that both of you said or did things that made the other distress rightfully, but let. It. GO!" Konata yelled. Her friends stared at her in shock. Never had they seen Konata get so worked up over something. "Now stand up!" she snapped. As if she was Professor Snape as opposed to the friend they'd come to know and love, Blaze and Shiro scrambled to do as they were told. Konata crossed her arms and nodded sternly, a dash of pleasurable success flickering across her eyes. "I won't force you guys to apologize, because maybe that'd be lying for you, but you WILL look each other in the eyes and you WILL make a gesture of forgiveness," she demanded.

Slowly, Shiro and Blaze turned to face each other. They were both, of course, thinking about how ridiculous this was and pondering whether or not they should make a break for it. However, when their blue eyes drifted into the same gaze and met, those thoughts evaporated. Perhaps Konata was right… Perhaps they were being foolish… Flashing apologetic smiles, they leaned forward and exchanged a heartfelt hug. Konata loosened up a great deal, a grin seeping onto her face. "Brilliant. So you two are on good terms again?"

"Yeah," they assured her, stepping away from each other. Blaze glanced down at the ground, appearing surprisingly sheepish. "Y'know, there HAS been a favor I've been wanting to ask you, Shiro… The most recent thing Satoshi said to me was that I should request that you take me to visit your dad… He said it would do me good."

It was silent for a few seconds. "Well… Alright then. I suppose if we had to go, now would be the time, with it being a Saturday and all… Konata, you should come too, Dad's been dying- no pun intended- to meet you personally," Shiro responded in a slightly leisurely voice. And so, the trio headed out onto the grounds. They first slipped into Hagrid's cottage, chatted a bit with him (he spoke more so to Shiro, though, since bitter feelings about the girls dropping his class still lingered), and then snuck off into the Forbidden Forest.

"Shiro, are you positive you know where we're going? It feels like we've been walking in circles for hours…" Konata muttered after over 15 minutes of venturing into the forest. She let out a short chuckle. "Wow, THAT was complaining if I've ever heard it."

"Oh, absolutely, you brat," Shiro growled. A split second later, though, he was grinning and giving Konata a peck on the cheek. Blaze had to fight the urge to smack them in the back of their heads. The desire was short-lived, though, as the companions climbed through some brambles into a clearing. "Dad…? It's me…" Shiro called, unable to keep his increasing excitement out of his tone. All was completely still for about 10 seconds, until a streak of light bolted across their field of view. It immediately grew in size, transforming into a glowing, silvery wolf in a bowing position. It raised its great head, morphing into the apparition of Shotaro Ueda, who permanently had the appearance of a 36 year old man.

"Look what we have here. Brought company, Shiro?" Shotaro swept over, smiling as warmly as a ghost could manage. Judging by his expression, you would think that Blaze was his own daughter and he was viewing her in her wedding dress for the first time. He looked the blonde up and down, clearly in admiration. "My, my. Blaze Alexanders… The last time I saw you, you were just a toddler, barely reaching up to my knee. Now you're an inch taller than my son here…You're turning into a beautiful young woman." Blaze offered a soft grin, feeling oddly regretful that she had no memories of Shiro's father.

"Thank you, Mr. Ueda…" She knew that was not the best response available, but was so struck that her mind seemed to have slowed down.

"Ah, and this must be dear Konata…" Shotaro might as well have spat on Blaze with the comparison of how affectionately he looked at the Hufflepuff girl. He gently took her bony hand and pressed his lips against it, making her shiver from the coldness of his nonexistent skin. "It's such an honor to finally make your acquaintance."

"Same to you," Konata assured him quickly.

Shotaro grinned, drifting backward slightly. "You're just as lovely as Shiro says you are, and I can tell the love between you kids is everlasting… You're going to be the mother of my grandbabies, I presume?"

Shiro and Konata both blushed, Shiro smacking his palm against his forehead to conceal his embarrassment at least a little. "I… Well, to be honest, I hope to be one day," Konata replied quietly. The expression of flattery, relief, and surprise on Shiro's face made Shotaro laugh. He opened his mouth to speak; however, this action went unnoticed by Shiro, for he brought up a new topic.

"I've got a couple questions, but, first… Where are Mum, the twins, and Sana?" he inquired. It appeared as if a shadow crossed Shotaro's luminous face.

"Children spirits are allowed to go toward the light whenever, and there are rare occasions when adults can. Your mother was a remarkable woman, and due to her lack of committed sins, she was one of those uncommon cases. Me, on the other hand…" He chuckled humorlessly. "I guess I've attempted to blow up professors a little too many times. Mark my words, kids... When your times come, don't choose to remain on this world. Being a ghost is a cowardly act… It may seem appealing at the time, but you'll regret it." With these words, he stared longingly at the darkening sky.

"O-oh…" Shiro hunched his shoulders a bit in an uncomfortable matter. "Well, just one more thing I was wondering. Your spirit appears as a patronus, which I understand, though I don't get how Mum's did as well… I mean, she was a Squib. When would she ever have cast a patronus?"

A majority of the grimness trickled out of Shotaro's translucent features. "Ah, you see, in death, it doesn't matter whether or not you're a Squib. If you've got magic blood, and you died at an adult age, it's as if you were magic your whole life. I mean, you can't cast spells from the dead, but some magical stuff- like appearing as a patronus- can occur," he explained.

"Alright… I get it," Shiro confirmed, nodding slowly.

At this point, it was obvious from his body language (even though there was no substance to it) that Shotaro wanted to speak. "Now, if that's all, Shiro…" he began. However, it was as if this partial sentence had never been spoken when his stare turned to Blaze. His voice was now coming out softly, barely audible above the sounds of the forest. "Your father's eyes… They look gorgeous on you… How would you like to know the truth about him, from the man who knew him best?"

Blaze felt as if a heavy weight had abruptly formed in her chest, dropping to the pit of her stomach. Her mouth seemed to fall dry. She hadn't spoken about her father since Christmastime about 5 years ago… Frankly, she didn't want to ever again. Still, the topic was painfully intriguing… She'd been in the dark about her father for far too long… "Yeah… Yeah, I would. Is this why Satoshi told me I should come visit you?"

The ghost of Shotaro nodded. "Alright… First things first, let's think back on when Darrien murdered your mother, back when you were 8. I was foolish and inconsiderate then, so I thought everything was fine and dandy once your aunt got custody of you." Blaze cringed at these words as Konata and Shiro stared at her, wide-eyed. Never had she told them that she was ever raised by an aunt… Although, they realized with a pang of guilt, they had never asked how she survived after her mother's murder. "After Darrien got shipped off to Azkaban for using the Cruciatus curse on that Auror, I kind of detached myself from the Alexanders… And like I said, I figured you would be totally fine with your aunt, so I didn't bother checking up on you… Even though it happened right before your first year, I never found out about her death until the following summer… But by then, I knew you were safe at Hogwarts and Shiro said you were spending your holidays with Konata and her family. Had I known earlier, I would have taken you in, in a flash. I just want you to know that.

"Don't get me wrong, it was a horrible shock when Darrien murdered Lorraine. Still… I can relatively see why. You see, Blaze…" Shotaro leaned against a tree, motioning for the trio to sit themselves on a nearby rock. "As you know, I was best of friends with your father. We were inseparable, him and I… we laughed at each other's jokes, no matter how stupid they were. When one of my pranks went too far, he would help squeeze me out of trouble. He was always sort of an underdog Slytherin, so when people bullied him I was there at his defense. He returned the favor when people hated on me for being such a player. If we didn't have each other, we might as well not have had anything at all."

"You're making it sound like you were lovers," Shiro whispered, immediately covering his mouth: that was meant to stay in his head. Shotaro, however, smiled sadly.

"You want to know something? For a long while… I thought Darrien was my first love." All three kids dropped their jaws, Konata already formulating a new story plot. "Anyway, so not the point… The one person that ever put our friendship on the line was Lucius Malfoy. He was 3 years ahead of us, but always had an interest in Darrien. He couldn't stand the likes of me, being an aloof blood traitor, though he put up with and even pretended to like me, just for Darrien's approval. I saw through his trick immediately, but I acted like I thought the three of us really were BFFs. Darrien was never that fond of Lulu," Shotaro had to grin at this nickname, "but did admire him. So, one day, when you kids were around 7 years old, dear old Lulu came to Darri with a request." It was impossible to tell Shotaro had appeared so amused mere seconds ago. "Blaze, I doubt you know this… But Lucius tried to recruit your father as a Death Eater."

You could probably hear a pin drop in the forest after this was said. "He… He said no, right?" Konata whispered, her two friends shocked wordless.

"Of course he did. Told him it was pointless since Voldemort- glad to see the name doesn't scare you, Blaze- was long gone, and that even if he was still around, taking up such a job would put his family at great risk. Lucius didn't give up his twisted hope, though… And the offer left a scar on Darrien's mind. You can't be asked to join the Death Eaters and never give it a second thought… It can drive people to insanity, especially with the pressure of being called a pathetic excuse for a Slytherin all their life in your dad's case. I would come in to see him muttering to himself, looking at me like he'd never seen me in his life for a few moments." Shotaro tried to give Blaze a hug, but ended up sliding right through her and making her shudder. The slightly humorous failed embrace, though, didn't alter the effect of the following words: "He stabbed your mother just because she said 'Good morning' to him, Blaze."

Silence enveloped them once more. "So, what you're saying is… what made Dad snap… Who made Dad snap… Was Lucius Malfoy?" Blaze concluded in a weak, slow voice. She felt like she could collapse right then and there. Shotaro gave a solemn half nod and rested his hand over her shoulder.

"Basically, yes… He was never crazy, Blaze. He never had any bitter feelings against you or your mother. The man that killed her and got sent to Azkaban… It wasn't your father. Not his mind, at least. The thoughts he had… They were poisoned to a point of no return."

A sort of whimper arose from Blaze's throat. She shook her head gradually, bringing her hands up to her face. "No… No, no, no… The man who caused my father to turn into a monster…" Her usually confident voice cracked. "I'm in love with his son…"

"You and Draco, huh…? Well…" Shotaro gave a breathless sigh. "You can't try to change how you feel about him because of this. He had nothing to do with the whole incident…"

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Blaze agreed, barely audible.

"Er, I hate to kill the moment, but it's getting awfully late… We need to get going," Shiro murmured.

"Oh, not a problem. Wouldn't want you kids getting in trouble." Shotaro's ghost gave Shiro a kiss on the forehead that resulted in his lips going right through the boy's hair. "Be good now, all of you," he requested softly. "It was wonderful meeting you, Konata, and seeing you again, Blaze…" The girls whispered their replies before Konata took Shiro's hand and Blaze grabbed onto his arm. "Wait, Shiro?" Shotaro called to their backs.

Shiro glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?"

A grin that made him look remarkably like Satoshi stretched across Shotaro's translucent face. "You've got to get your act together. From what I've seen, your little sister is a better kisser than you are."

"I beg to differ," Konata retorted in the middle of a laugh. Shiro's face burned red, and he dashed out of the clearing, growling at his father what could only be taken as the word "Stalker."